The Road through the Ivy at Mt. Utsu near Okabe

The series Fifty-Three Stations of the Hokkaido, first published between 1833 and 1834, is based in a trip Andō Hiroshige made in 1832 along the Hokkaido, a road linking the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo) and the old imperial capital of Kyoto. This is a particularly fine print. The grain of the wood is visible through the transparent ink, and the lavender color, one of the most fugitive colors, is still vibrant.

Andō Hiroshige
Japanese, 1797–1858The Road through the Ivy at Mt. Utsu near Okabe, from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Hokkaido
1831–34
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
13 9/16 x 8 13/16 in. (34.4 x 22.4 cm)
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Thomas T. Solley Endowed Fund for the Curator of Asian Art, 2012.65